


Before It's Not the Same Ship Anymore?

by AmateurScribes



Series: Whumptober 2019 [31]
Category: Red vs. Blue
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst with a Happy Ending, Embrace, Gen, Mercenaries, Prompt Fic, Recovery, Whumptober 2019
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-31
Updated: 2019-10-31
Packaged: 2021-01-16 00:21:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,282
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21262007
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AmateurScribes/pseuds/AmateurScribes
Summary: Grif never thought for a second that he'd get a happy ending- people like him just didn't deserve it.





	Before It's Not the Same Ship Anymore?

**Author's Note:**

> _The Question as Follows Is_ (I), _How Many Boards Can You Change_ (II), _Before It's Not the Same Ship Anymore?_ (III).
> 
> Happy Halloween! I hope everyone had a wonderful time today if you celebrate- and just a normal, extraordinary day if you don't! Unfortunately for me, I injured myself and fell/tripped really hard when trying to get to the Fine Arts building for my college, so I've been a bit sore all day, haha. Good thing I wasn't wearing a costume this year, that would've made me so sad.
> 
> For the duration of this event, all mistakes are my own.

How they ever managed to not get caught, Grif would never know. In fact, he didn't really play all too difficult of a part in it, he simply retrieved the Freelancers and blocked Washington from a potentially deadly shot. He would accredit this victory to the SIMs and the SIMs alone.

He wasn't expecting anyone to trust him- far from it, he was hoping to help them out this one time and go back to what he was doing. Not that he wanted to  _ run away _ from them per se, but he knew that there was bad, absolutely  _ horrible _ blood between them, and a lot of things left unresolved between him and the Reds and Blues.

But it was as if, just him protecting Wash, had flipped some sort of switch in all of them, and they were acting all buddy-buddy just like that.

It concerned him because if that's all it took, it made sense how easily they were tricked into trusting the Blues and Reds.

Of course, now they knew just how important it was for the Freelancers to be watched- they clearly couldn't be trusted to be left alone, despite being fatigued and weak from their duration of being armor locked.

While Carolina was miraculously in better condition than the other agent, the scare that they had all gone through had quieted her insistence that she was fine. 

Which left Grif guiding them to find where their medic was being held. They needed to be checked out by some sort of person with medical qualifications, and unfortunately, they were only left with DuFresne.

Despite having his own perfectly functioning ship, the others insisted that join them in their  _ very cramped _ ship, just so that he could be included in their plans to take down the maniac SIM.

Of which they made no real plans beyond going to Earth and fighting the Blues and Reds, and he'd have half the mind to be pissed off that he left his ship unattended if it wasn't for the fact that the reporter that was seemingly with their group had distracted him with a spur of the moment interview.

"And you're the very same Nero who assisted in the almost successful extermination of the planet Chorus?" she asked, pushing her cameraman forward and smacking him with a hiss to start recording.

Looking at the pair, he's tempted to just not answer anything, insist that the footage appeared nowhere on the internet, because then otherwise he'd have to acquire new armor, and just because he modified the one that Simmons had given him didn't mean he wanted to part with-

_ Click. _

He stops himself and answers, "Yes." Just because he would humor her didn't mean he would be given her anything to work with.

"But now you're helping out the very same people that you tried to kill, what caused this change of heart," she asked, voice not showing any emotion that she was feeling.

Because he knew it was wrong? Because now without Simmons there he had to figure out  _ what _ to do with-

_ Click. _

"Got to start my redemption somewhere," he looks around and tries to find a way out, he doesn't even know who this person is. Seriously, why the hell was she here again?

"And your partner?" she asked. "We did some digging into him and couldn't find much, it's very hard to find eye-witnesses when most of them are dead. Do you have any sort of comment on who he was? Or perhaps, do you think that his actions represent your own? And what of his death?"

_ Click. Click. Click click click clickclickclick- _

"Ok, that's enough of that," Wu stepped in between the two of them, one hand placed against his hip and the other up ready to point his finger condescendingly to the reporter. "Yeesh, you really don't know when to quit it do you, Dylan?"

"What can I say? When people want to know the truth, I'm there to supply them with facts," she doesn't sound sorry for her prodding. "And the story about who the mercenaries of Chorus are is possibly the one people are the  _ most curious about." _

"Well, maybe just relax with the questions, ok?" Wu sighed, he turned around and asked. "Nero, are you-"

But Grif had already moved to the other side of the ship, resting near Captain Ortez instead.

This was going to be a long trip to Earth.

* * *

He's not too sure what to make of the supposed drill that the Blue- Temple- was planning on using to destroy the UNSC. And from what the reporter stated, it seemed as though it was actually a time machine.

How a SIM Trooper managed to make that, he had not a single clue.

Despite wanting to take a more active role in doing good, he still didn't prefer to fight, so he did his job of taking Washington and Carolina to DuFresne, who- and Grif didn't know the whole story here- had also been betrayed by the Blues and Reds under the notion that he could help their leader before it was too late.

As soon as they were able enough to traverse further into the base, Grif escorted the Freelancers once more, just in time to see Tucker knock out the Blue Leader, and further just in time to stop the machine being activated at all.

Everything was over Grif found himself on the outskirts of the SIMs, knowing that he needed some way to get back to his ship, especially since they had promptly contacted the UNSC about what had been going down on this island. He was still a wanted criminal after all.

He was considering asking for a ride from the reporter in exchange for an interview, something that he didn't really want to do, but was about a step away from doing when he saw the first ship land on the island.

Grif was already at a distance when the airship landed, and he was glad for it when he saw the Chorus lieutenants walk off the landing platform. He also saw as a mysterious person in yellow SIM armor stepped off as well.

He should really get going, he didn't want to be recognized by any of the Chorus soldiers- wasn't quite ready to face justice for his crimes and for what he had done because of-

_ Cli- _ "What's up assholes!"-  _ ck. _

He freezes up, hand still clenching tightly against his clicker and it repetitively sounded out, but he too stuck on the voice that he had heard.

It wasn't possible- Washington had said-

Rushing down the slope, luck in his favor as the lieutenants were escorting both Washington and Carolina into the med bay of their ship, reaching the assembled group of SIMs.

The yellow armored soldier reacted to his presence by taking a step back, obviously frightened by his rush, but he just reached out for her hands, breathing out,  _ "Kaikaina." _

She stood in silence, and he was sure that behind her helmet that her mouth was parted in shock.

"Wait, you know her?" Tucker cocked his head, but Grif didn't pay him any mind, waiting desperately for his baby sister to say  _ something. _

Maybe it had been too long- had his voice changed? He knew that he  _ himself _ had changed but- surely she could still recognize him? 

This was stupid, impulsive of him even. He had left was she a teenager and she must have been a young adult blossoming into maturity, of course, she wouldn't know what he sounded like anymore-

He started pulling his hands away, but she grabbed them quickly, hands shaking as she held them.

"Dex?" it sounded like she had tears in her eyes, voice wobbly. "Oh my god-"

She fell into his grasp, and he embraced her tightly, her head going straight for the crook in his neck, only partially blocked by their armor, and he pressed her close to him as if he was never going to let go again.

"Wait- Dex? As in,  _ the _ Dexter Grif- Sister's brother that she's been searching for?" Tucker sounded freaked out before his hands slapped harshly against his helmet. "Oh my god, did I stick my dick in the sister of  _ crazy?!" _

"Ortez, holy shit," Gates slapped the green armored soldier’s forearm before the man smacked his hand away. "This is just like my  _ fucking dramas except even better because we're a part of it." _

"I think I'm most surprised that his name isn't really Nero," Wu noted, hand on his chin.

Sharkface looked at him, silent for all of a moment, before he stated as monotonously as he could, "How the  _ fuck _ could you even think that Nero was  _ anyone's _ real name?"

"Your last name is literally Sharkface- I don't care  _ how _ it's pronounced," the royal purple armored soldier countered.

But none of their idiotic chatterings mattered to Grif, because he was holding his sister in his arms, and he had thought that she was  _ dead- _

She pulled back, and Grif wanted nothing more than to pull her back in, but she had slammed her fists against his chest plate as she demanded, "Where  _ were _ you?!"

"I fell into the wrong sort of crowd," he explained, not wanting to get into the topic of Simmons and who he was to him just yet-  _ click, _ "Became sort of a mercenary and then a wanted criminal for, well, attempted planetary genocide?"

The SIMs held their breath as they waited on her response to what her brother had been up to.

"What? Without me?!" Kai demanded, baffling all of her other SIMs. "I would have been the sexiest mercenary!"

"Kai," he said exasperated but having missed her so much.

"You know it's true!" she huffed. But then her tone grew serious as her hands snaked up to his helmet, saying, "I want to see how much uglier you've gotten."

By the way that her hands hadn't ripped it off yet, he knew that she was asking permission, so he leaned his head towards her palms and she took that as the incentive that she needed to pull off the headpiece.

Dimly, some part of his brain knows that this is the first time that any of the SIMs are going to see his face.

But he only has an eye for Kai.

"Oh Dex," she deflates, and he knows where her eyes are looking. "What happened to your eye?"

"Oh god, it's worse, it's so much worse, they look too much alike," the aqua soldier moaned, before getting hit by the dark red soldier.

"Part of the job," he explains, and he's glad that he had thrown away his eye patch a long time ago, opting for a glass eye instead. "Still think you could have been the sexiest mercenary?"

"There's still time to prove that!" she shoves his helmet into his hands. "Come on, Dex, please?"

"I don't really do that anymore-" he tried to explain.

"You wouldn't have to do any of the killings!" she exclaimed, her hand grabbing the one that held his clicker. "You can use this thing to let me know when you're thinking of killing someone- someone bad!- and I'll do it-"

"That's really not what that's for," he says as he resists the urge to click the button at the thought that what she wants him to do is something that  _ Simmons _ used to-

"Just me and you Dex?" she asks, and she's not trying to pressure him into agreeing, she's just asking.

He's sure that if he said no, that she'd stop pressing the matter, that she'd let it go, and it wouldn't be brought up again.

She's his sister, and that's why he says, "Sure."

She squeals in excitement, clapping her hands together, but he gathers them into his own and says, "But we'd have to leave like, right now. Those people you came here with aren't exactly happy with my being alive."

"Then let's get a ride with that bitching reporter!" she points towards the top of the hill where said reporter is likely monologue. "She's like, right there, and I'm totally sure that she'd let us join her."

"Kai," this is so similar and he's just so relieved that she's there. "Don't fuck the reporter."

"Oh, I'm gonna fuck her," Kai confirms.

"Do not fuck the reporter," but he knows a lost cause when he sees one. "Please, at least don't fuck her when I'm in the ship to hear it all."

"No promises, bro," she grabs his hand and starts pulling him up towards the cliff. "Let's get a move on!"

"Hey! What about us?" Tucker calls out. "You guys can't just leave! Not until we confirm that Nero's a Blue!"

"Um, excuse you?" Gates butted in. "Why the  _ fuck _ would he be a Blue?"

"Because his sister is on our team, rat-face," Tucker hissed.

"But he's  _ orange," _ Gates hissed right back, getting up into Tucker's face. "Orange is a Red color."

"And so is yellow, and yet here we are!" Tucker blew a raspberry at the man. "Also- it's a fair trade because green is a Blue color and yet there Ortez is!"

"It's not fair! You guys have two Freelancers, fucking share for once!" Gates snapped.

From there, they delved into a furious argument, everyone staying on the sidelines, only occasionally adding something to fuel the fire.

But Grif doesn't care because as he places his helmet back on, and lets his sister lead him up to where the reporter and her cameraman were, he can finally take a deep breath and relax.

He can do right and he can do better, he's sure of it now.

**Author's Note:**

> And that's a wrap, folks! I'm not too sure if I'll add more to this merc!Reds AU, but you never know when something might strike me in the future! It's been a wonderful- if not tiring month- but I had a blast writing all these wonderful new ideas. Plus, I have so many new fics now! 
> 
> What was your favorite fic from this event? I'd love to know which and why, there's been so much not even I'm sure if I have a favorite, haha!
> 
> If you'd like to contact me, you can find me at either of my Tumblr's: @agent-murica (main) and @amateurscribes (writing).


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